GoHeels Exclusive: Monday Press Conference Notes

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

At some point this season, Larry Fedora says the North Carolina football team's preseason goals could shift. But after a 1-3 start, they remain unchanged.

"There's some goals that at some point you're not going to be able to reach them if you don't keep going in a positive direction," said Fedora on Monday during his weekly press conference.

"So, we do talk about it, and we reset goals, but we had four goals. So, we will continue to work toward those goals. Hopefully we can keep things going in a positive direction. If we don't, then we'll have to reassess."

Here are four notes from the press conference, leading up to Saturday's noon game at Georgia Tech:

Surratt shows improvement

Making his third career start, Chazz Surratt continued his steady progression during Saturday's 27-17 loss against Duke.

Surratt completed 17 of 32 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown. He also turned 17 carries into a team-best 77 yards and a touchdown, a 56-yard scamper that marked the longest touchdown run by a UNC quarterback since Darian Durant's 63-yarder against Clemson in 2003.

"He threw the ball well, didn't throw the ball into coverage," Fedora said. "He took the ball where it needed to go. His long balls, he gave the receivers an opportunity to make a play each time he threw it. He wasn't overthrowing them. He gave us a chance."

However, Fedora said Surratt started pressing some in the fourth quarter. That ultimately led to Surratt's first career interception, which was returned 61 yards for a touchdown, on his 83rd pass attempt of the season.

"Hopefully he learns from that," Fedora said. "I'm expecting that he will and he'll be a better quarterback because of it."

Looking for more in running game

Although Surratt found success running the ball against Duke, which entered Saturday with the nation's No. 1 rushing defense, the Tar Heels' tailbacks struggled.

Jordon Brown and Michael Carter combined for just 41 yards on 16 carries, and UNC finished with 118 rushing yards – which matches the team's average through three games against Power 5 teams.

A lack of continuity along the offensive line has affected UNC's ground game. But Fedora said multiple things need to happen for the team to run the ball better.

"We've got to have more from them (the offensive linemen)," he said. "It doesn't matter what five are out there. We've got to have more from them, we've got to have more from the running backs, we've got to have more from perimeter blocking, we've got to have more from the tight ends blocking. Everybody has got to give more."

Riley seizes opportunity

After impressing during fall camp, Jordon Riley saw his first career snaps Saturday. He finished with four tackles and a quarterback hurry.

"He was really good at the point of attack," Fedora said. "There were a couple of times on double teams where he was a little bit high. But it was really good to get him some good reps, and he's going to have to help us the rest of the way."

Defending the option

Throughout the year, the coaching staff designates times to prepare the defense for facing option offenses, specifically Georgia Tech's. And this season, the Tar Heels will face the challenge of executing their game plan for the Yellow Jackets against quarterback TaQuon Marshall.

Marshall leads the Atlantic Coast Conference with 386 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. In Saturday's win over Pittsburgh, he turned 18 carries into 112 yards and two touchdowns.

"He's fast, he's got a quick twitch, he can make you miss, he's tougher than nails," Fedora said. "He's not a big guy, but he'll take hits and bounce up and it's no big deal to him. He's running the offense very well and he throws the ball effectively."

Players Mentioned

Jordon Brown

Michael Carter

Jordon Riley

Chazz Surratt

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